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Bee forage check

How good is this spot for honey bees?

Enter an address or tap the map. You'll see which bee plants and crops are within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more), when the honey flow comes and when there's a dearth, nearby water, a few things worth checking, and how the spot ranks against random sites in your state and across the country.

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The colors are the national forage map: every square kilometer of the lower 48, scored the same way. See the honey flow for your state and town, the best and worst spots we found, or how the scoring works.

Forage report for 36.4028, -77.2319

Estimated forage here is better than about 83% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in summer (96th percentile) and lowest in spring (14th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 0.2 mi W, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 81st percentile (spring 76th, summer 82nd, fall 31st)
  • North Carolina: 83rd percentile (spring 14th, summer 96th, fall 71st)
  • Southeastern Plains: 90th percentile (spring 50th, summer 98th, fall 87th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across North Carolina, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: May 16 to Jul 31 — Soybeans, Cotton
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Aug 31 — Cotton
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 123 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 102 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 46 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 180 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Cotton: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Cotton, Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Cotton, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Cotton, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

An estimate from public maps (USDA crop maps 2021-2025 averaged, LANDFIRE vegetation), not a survey of the ground. Maps can't see garden plantings, understory density, other beekeepers' hives, or this year's weather. Honey composition is a nectar-source estimate, not a pollen analysis. Benchmark 2026.5. How this works.